The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Thursday reported that ongoing blockages restricting movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza have “undermined” the living conditions of nearly two million Palestinians. The OCHA reports that the restrictions, put in place by Israel in 2007, “have reduced access to livelihoods, [...]
A Spanish High Court judge on Thursday ordered 40 people, including three former ruling party treasurers, to stand trial over a bribes-for-contracts scheme. Investigation into the Gurtel scandal began in 2009 after a recording surfaced of Francisco Correa bragging about Luis Barcenas’ acceptance of over 1.3 billion euros in bribes. At the conclusion of a [...]
A Thai court issued a four-year prison sentence to 15 members of the political group United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), known as the Red Shirts , on Thursday, following a conviction for inciting riots in 2009. The Red Shirts are a political group that supports former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra , who was [...]
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Thursday threw out a challenge by an Iranian trade bank based in Hamburg after the bank questioned its inclusion on the EU’s sanction list. This action marks a victory for the EU, coming after many of its Iran sanction rulings were overturned by courts. The EU froze Europaeisch-Iranische [...]
The Supreme Court of Singapore fined blogger Alex Au of the website Yawning Bread 8,000 Singapore dollars (USD $5,845) on Thursday for contempt of court. Au faces charges over comments he made in 2013 concerning the timing of two cases involving sexual acts between same-sex individuals. Au commented that the top court engaged in strange [...]
Sheriffs from Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Colorado’s recreational marijuana law. The sheriffs are asking the court to strike down Amendment 64, the legislation legalizing the sale of recreational marijuana, and to close Colorado’s licensed marijuana retailers. Plaintiffs argue that the amendment is “preempted by federal law and therefore violates the [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Thursday urged UN member states to remain focused on human rights in their “struggle against violent extremism.” Zeid noted that the world is at a “turning point,” and that the “fight against terror is a struggle to uphold values of … human rights—not undermine [...]
UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai on Wednesday welcomed a bill introduced in the lower house of the Victorian Parliament designed to repeal stringent laws regulating protests. The laws, introduced last year and dubbed “move on” laws , expanded police power to enable them to move protesters who might be obstructing public areas, which, Kiai stated [...]
The US Senate on Wednesday failed to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act . The Senate needed 67 votes to override the veto , but the vote fell short with a final count of 62-37. The votes were cast along partisan lines, with all Senate Republicans and eight Democrats [...]
Head of the United States Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Bernardino León on Wednesday warned the UN Security Council that without intervention from the international community and UN, Libya is likely to become unstable in the wake of repeated terrorist attacks. León urged the international community to heed Libyan pleas for assistance. Among his main [...]
